Take My House, Please
It was Henny Youngman, the violin playing comedian discovered by king of hilarity Milton Berle, whose quick wit and flair for one liners coined the infamous phrase…”take my wife, please.” Even though Henny and Milton weren’t really comedians of my time, I inherited an appreciation for their dry sense of humor through my father and it has left an enduring mark on how I see the world and what makes me laugh. I still think that line is belly aching funny and I love the old joke about who’s on third. Comedy and our collective sense of what’s funny, like everything else, has evolved and today’s comic style seems to be more edgy and hard hitting; sometimes with undertones of anger and jaded cynicism, mirroring changes in our culture and social experiences.
Real estate, too, is evolving. Typically considered an old school industry, there are significant advancements in the entrenched rituals of buying and selling homes. The single causal factor is technology. E-commerce has changed how we access information and the speed at which we expect the world to react to us. Later this month, an old idea will re-launch with a new twist. The concept is one that was developed in the early 90′s when the economy took a nose dive and real estate sales slowed to a snail’s pace. Essentially a dating service for homeowners looking to relocate, upgrade or downsize, the Home Exchange Program pairs buyer-sellers with comparable needs. This is not a tool for everyone. It will not work for first time homebuyers. Nor will it work for sellers whose properties have depreciated significantly. To make this model work, the parties must be both sellers and buyers. They must also have equity in their homes at least equal to the downpayment on their new homes. It limits the scope of prospective properties since the trade pool is much smaller than homes on the market. But, despite its limitations and lack of broad applicability, it does have some interesting benefits. The biggest advantage is that it allows people to move now. Instead of waiting for the market to turn around or be forced to sell in a down market at the risk of losing a sizable amount of appreciation, owners can trade properties at a higher value with someone in a similar predicament. The program has been largely automated as well. There are online tools designed to figure out whether or not this concept could work for you including an equity calculator and FAQs. Because unlocking frozen equity is the cornerstone of this program, it may be difficult to implement in a market like the one we’re in now, however, it has some nice advantages. Here are a few properties with sufficient equity, value and tenacity to make them potentially viable candidates for this creative initiative.
- 1920 single family home with 3 beds, 2 baths
- Zestimate $849,500
- Asking $756,000
- Last sold on November 18, 1998 for $350,000
- On Redfin 108 days
- 1950 single family home with 3 beds, 2 baths
- Zestimate $735,500
- Asking $995,000
- Last sold on May 24, 1989 for $295,000
- On Redfin 73 days
- 1937 single family home with 3 beds, 2 baths
- Zestimate $634,500
- Asking $729,000
- Last sold on May 31, 2002 for $450,000
- On Redfin 60 days
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